Chocolate Covered Butter Toffee
One of my favorite types of candy is toffee. There’s something absolutely delicious about a piece of buttery toffee covered in silky chocolate. While our family’s food allergies make it nearly impossible for me to buy toffee, I refuse to let that keep me from having delicious toffee in the house during the holidays. Instead of buying it, I simply make my own. It took me a few years to master, but I am reminded that it was worth the effort with every delicious bite.
Candy making can be daunting. While the ingredients tend to be humble and the equipment is easy to come by, many people are intimidated by the process. Of course, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by a bubbling mixture that registers over 300 degrees and requires constant supervision.
It all comes down to temperature and time. As the sugar and other ingredients are heated, moisture evaporates away. As more and more moisture evaporates, the sugar concentrates, the mixture thickens, and the temperature rises. As the temperature rises, the structure of the sugar is transformed. The molecules in the sugar begin to break apart and combine with the amino acids/proteins in the butter. This is where the magic occurs.
As the sugar molecules break apart, they caramelize, taking on the appearance and flavor we’ve come to expect from caramel. This is referred to as the Maillard Reaction after the French scientist Louis Camille Maillard. It’s the same scientific reaction that browns the outside of a steak in a hot pan or transforms the flavor of a marshmallow when toasted to brown perfection over a campfire.
When sugar is properly caramelized, it takes on that ever so slightly burnt sugar flavor that we identify as caramel. The temperature determines just how deep that caramel flavor becomes and what sort of texture the candy will have. In this recipe, we’ll take the temperature to 315 degrees Fahrenheit, the same temperature goal for creating a lollipop or hard lozenge style candy.
While baking and cooking offer downtime during their respective processes, candy making is an all hands on deck, devote your full attention endeavor. Put down the phone, ignore the knock at the door, and make sure that the dog doesn’t need to go out while the pot is bubbling away on the stove. The difference of a minute can make or break your recipe.
Take great care when making any candy. Work swiftly and carefully as small mistakes can lead to a scorched batch of caramel too bitter to enjoy or a painful burn caused by touching the bubbling mixture. Both are avoidable and shouldn’t dissuade you from giving it a try.
I’ll share a few tips for candy making success. They’re simple yet useful to ensure safety and delicious candy. They also apply to any candy recipe, not just the toffee below or other candy recipes you’ll find here in our collection. Each of these tips shares a similar thread: be fully prepared before you begin.
- Read the entire candy recipe from start to finish. The nature of working with high-temperature liquids that heat and cool so quickly doesn’t always allow for reading the next step of a recipe or going to grab something from the pantry before continuing. Read the entire recipe first so that you won’t find yourself needing time that the liquid just won’t allow.
- Gather all of your ingredients and tools together before turning on the burner. If you have all the ingredients and each tool close at hand, ready to use, you’re halfway to a delicious batch of candy.
- Prep everything before beginning. Line your baking sheet; prepare a candy mold if needed. Do anything ahead of time that you can. Again, hot candy won’t wait for you to tear parchment to line the baking sheet or prep the candy mold.
- Work swiftly but don’t hurry. Better to risk the caramel than risk a burn.
- Take a deep breath and enjoy the magic of candy making. It’s really an amazing process. Simple ingredients that could just as easily be used to create a cookie recipe (save the added water) are somehow coerced into becoming crisp caramel-colored candy right before your eyes.
I hope that you’ll give this recipe a try because the results are scrumptious. No matter how many times I make this toffee, I am always amazed at how delicious it tastes and how pretty it looks on our Christmas Eve dessert tray. I’m willing to bet that you will feel the same way.
Chocolate Covered Butter Toffee
By bringing the ingredients in this recipe up to the hard crack stage at 315 degrees, you will produce a golden brown delicious candy thanks to Maillard’s Reaction. At this temperature, the candy cools to a shattering solid state. By carefully whisking the hot liquid briefly before pouring it out onto the baking sheet, you’ll remove any air bubbles from the mixture and create that solid toffee texture with a lovely crunch and buttery flavor.
You can either make one large sheet of toffee with chocolate on top (that’s the easier method) or break the cool toffee into individual pieces before dipping them each in tempered chocolate. The result tastes the same, so it’s really a matter of personal preference and enjoyment. If you won’t enjoy dipping 60 individual pieces of toffee in chocolate one by one and allowing them to dry, don’t. The results are so delicious that no one will mind. They’ll be too busy devouring the toffee.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ pound chocolate chips or bar chocolate cut into small pieces
Instructions
- Read the entire recipe before proceeding. Understanding the recipe fully will ensure your success. There are two different methods for adding chocolate to the toffee and you method should be chosen before beginning the recipe.
- To make the Toffee:
- Line a baking sheet with a Silpat style silicone liner or sheet of parchment paper. Select a whisk, spatula, and spoon (if desired) that can withstand the heat of the candy mixture. Select a pot deep enough to safely contain the bubbling candy with room for expansion.
- Add the butter, sugar, brown sugar, water, molasses, and salt to a medium sized pan placed over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, stir to combine the ingredients and insert your candy thermometer to monitor the temperature of the candy as it comes up to temperature.
- Adjust the heat as needed to maintain a constant bubble of the candy mixture and steady increase in temperature. Watch that temperature closely and continue to cook until it reads 275 degrees Fahrenheit on the candy thermometer.
- You may notice that the mixture will appear to thicken. That is normal as the temperature increases, water evaporates, and the mixture approaches the hard ball stage.
- Using a heat safe whisk or spatula, begin to stir the candy while continuing to cook until it reaches a temperature of 315 degrees. This change can happen rapidly, so monitor the thermometer constantly.
- Carefully remove the pan from the heat. Remove the candy thermometer and set aside to cool. Stir the candy for a few seconds to ensure that it is completely smooth. Carefully pour the hot toffee out on to the lined baking sheet.
- Using a metal spatula, spread the toffee out into an even layer. I spread mine to a thickness of around 1/16 inch. Work quickly as the toffee will begin to cool off in moments and become too firm to work with.
- To finish the toffee in one large piece (easiest method):
- Sprinkle two cups of your favorite chocolate chips on top of the warm toffee after you spread it. You can combine milk and dark chocolate if you like or use one all one type. Allow the heat of the toffee to melt the chocolate before using a spatula to spread the chocolate into an even layer on top of the toffee. If you want to add chopped nuts to your toffee, sprinkle them on top while the chocolate is still in a melted state.
- Allow the chocolate covered toffee to cool completely before breaking into bite sized pieces.
- To finish the toffee in individually chocolate coated pieces:
- After spreading the hot toffee into an even layer, use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to score the top surface of the toffee into bite sized pieces. These can be sized to your liking, scored into squares or rectangles. It is not necessary to actually cut the pieces fully or to attempt to separate them. You are creating scoring lines that will make breaking the toffee apart a bit easier when it has cooled.
- Allow the toffee to cool completely. Using your hands, carefully break the toffee apart into pieces by following your score lines. This is not a perfect science. Some pieces will break beautifully while others will shatter into smaller or oddly shaped pieces.
- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler until perfectly smooth or in a microwave safe bowl in 20 second increments. Allow the melted chocolate to cool slightly, just above room temperature. Chocolate that is too hot will not adhere well to the toffee while chocolate that is too cool will be thick and difficult to work with.
- As the chocolate is cooling, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper.
- Working one piece at a time, add a piece of the toffee to the melted chocolate. Use a fork to turn the toffee in the chocolate, fully coating it on all sides. Lift the chocolate covered toffee from the chocolate and allow the excess chocolate to drip away. Tapping the fork will hasten this process.
- Place the chocolate coated toffee on the parchment paper or waxed paper and allow to rest undisturbed until the chocolate has completely cooled and hardened.
- To store the toffee:
- Cool pieces of toffee can be kept at room temperature for several days or in the refrigerator in a covered container for weeks.